Palace won’t stand in way of Duterte-ICC showdown

Malacañan Palace on Wednesday said it would not object to former President Rodrigo Duterte’s wishes to face the International Criminal Court (ICC).

This came after Duterte challenged the ICC to come to the Philippines as soon as possible to probe alleged crimes committed under his administration’s anti-drug campaign.

In a statement, Executive Secretary Lucas Bersamin said the Philippine government would cooperate with the international tribunal if and when asked.

"If the former President desires to surrender himself to the jurisdiction of the ICC, the government will neither object to it nor move to block the fulfillment of his desire," he said.

He added that if the ICC refers the matter to the Interpol and issues a "Red Notice" to Philippine authorities, the government may cooperate with the international organization.

“The government will feel obliged to consider the red notice as a request to be honored, in which case the domestic law enforcement agencies shall be bound to accord full cooperation to the Interpol, pursuant to established protocols,” he noted.

According to Interpol, a “Red Notice” is a request to law enforcement agencies worldwide to locate and provisionally arrest a person of interest pending extradition, surrender, or similar legal action based on an arrest warrant of the requesting country.

In 2018, the Philippines withdrew its membership from the Rome Statute of the ICC.

On Wednesday, Duterte attended the Quad Committee hearing on alleged extrajudicial killings committed by the local authorities during his term.